Local groups are coming together to join the fight against type one diabetes (T1D).

A fundraising breakfast, hosted by the Knights of Columbus, will take place Sept. 7 to benefit the Greater Arkansas Chapter of JDRF, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for T1D.

Although T1D has traditionally been known as juvenile diabetes, adults are diagnosed with the disease at the same rate as children. Each year, more than 15,000 adults and 15,000 children in the U.S. are diagnosed.

T1D differs from type two diabetes (T2D) in some very significant ways. T2D is a metabolic disease in which a person’s body cannot effectively use insulin. This type of diabetes can sometimes be controlled with diet and other lifestyle changes. T1D, however, is an autoimmune disease where a person’s immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. T1D is not related to diet or lifestyle.

Wayne Eastman’s 5-year-old grandson was diagnosed with T1D at the age of 2. Eastman said the boy’s life has become a series of testing blood sugar, meticulously counting carbs, making calculations and injecting insulin.

It’s a complicated process that affects all aspects of life, from what schools the boy can attend to his ability to attend events like sleepovers. Eastman said he and his wife moved to Arkansas from the Chicago, Ill., area to help care for the boy.

“It’s a family disease,” Susan Tull, executive director of the Arkansas JDRF chapter, said. “It doesn’t just strike the person that has the autoimmune disease; the entire family is stricken with this disease.”

The Sept. 7 event is scheduled for 8-11 a.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall. Vision screenings will be provided by the Russellville Lions Club and the Arkansas Student Nursing Association will perform blood glucose screenings.

JDRF was founded in 1970, with the Arkansas chapter founded in 1997. Since 1970, $1.7 billion has been raised nationally for diabetes research. In 2012, JDRF was named by Forbes as one of the top five “All Star” charities. Tull said the organization is very efficient, contributing more than 80 percent of funds raised directly to research.

JDRF has other fundraisers and education activities throughout the year. Coming up Sept. 21 is the Walk to Cure Diabetes at Dickey Stephens Park in Little Rock.

On Nov. 6, Tom Brobson, the JDRF national director of research involvement, will speak in Little Rock about current clinical trials and research that JDRF is supporting.

General information about T1D can be found at www.jdrf.org and persons specifically interested in the Walk to Cure Diabetes can visit www.walk.jdrf.org.